Starcraft.

This is fiction based on the Starcraft world. I realize that I'm interpreting the relationship between two of the most iconic characters in the series, and there are probably some inconsistencies. Forgive me if I pissed you off with this story.

Raynor was quite hesitant in his steps, not knowing what to expect from walking through the dark corridors. Lights were flickering and automated doors were malfunctioning all over the place, closing half way, getting jammed, and then reopening again. The repetitive mechanical grinding of the gears would normally have been annoying, but now Raynor hardly noticed it. He clutched his weapon hard, his palms sweaty inside his combat suit. Never in his life had he ever set foot in a command centre that had been infested before. It looked on the inside exactly as it did on the outside, a seamless transition between metal and carapace noticeable all over the structure. The only difference was that the outside walls did not have the corpses of the command centre crew splattered all over them.

Given a choice, Raynor wouldn’t have gone in at all. Only a mad man would walk into a command centre after a Queen was done with it. But the condition that he suffered was a form of madness, if he were to be perfectly honest with himself. Poets and psychologists alike had likened his state of mind to insanity. The psychologists tended to prefer more clinical assessments of the situation, while the poets reveled in the unpredictability of it all. Ultimately, neither succeeded in completing the task they set out to do.

Raynor panned the light on his combat suit around, scanning the area for threats. The internal security systems on the command centre had been shredded by the Queen, and Raynor wondered if she had installed her own system of spines and needles in place of the machine gun and missile turrets. Apparently, she hadn’t.

Then he saw it. A silhouette of refracted light was standing there, quite motionless. He didn’t wait. A steady stream of gauss rifle bullets streamed out of his weapon. The silhouette wavered for a while, some parts showing the Zerg carapace that lay beneath but a moment later, it dove to the side and disappeared again.

“Not bad, Raynor. I didn’t expect you to be able to see me at all.”

Raynor spun about wildly, desperately following the sound of the voice, trying to find the source. “Well, its you after all. I don’t really need to see you to know that you are around.”

“Aww. That’s so sweet.” The voice was right behind him. Before he could turn, three blades slammed against his back. The impact of the blow knocked him forward, sending him sprawling across the metal floor. A typical marine would have been halved across the waist from that blow, but Raynor’s armour was tougher than usual. Being commander gave you that kind of privilege. His armour might have saved him this time, but Raynor knew that he couldn’t take too many hits. He didn’t have much time. He flipped open the console on his wrist, and pressed the blinking button within. A high pitched wail started screaming out of his wrist getting more piercing with each passing second. Just as the sound was about to leave the human audio frequency, a small shockwave burst from Raynor’s wrist. The electromagnetic pulse swept across the entire floor, blacking out the flickering lights that were not claimed by the Zerg infestation.

Picking himself up, Raynor looked around. His own lights were EMP shielded, so they still worked. She was standing in the middle of the room, a smug smile across her face. “EMP. Very smart, Raynor. Doesn’t change anything though.”

Kerrigan flexed her blades, waving them like a bird of prey stretching her muscles. “It’s a shame that I’m going to have to kill you. I’ve always liked you. There is something quite charming about you mercenary types.”

“Then don’t kill me. Come back with me. The medics on board the St. Claire will sort the infestation out.”

She laughed. It sounded exactly the same as her laugh when she was human. “You’re quite the romantic aren’t you, Raynor. Its done, love. I’m the Queen of Blades now, and I have a whole race worshipping me. If I had known the kind of power that awaited me, I would have given myself up to the Zerg long ago.”

“I don’t believe that. There is still some humanity left in you. I know that.”

Kerrigan rolled her eyes. “I buried the last of my humanity a long time ago Raynor. Being human sucks. Heck, even the sex is better with the Zerg.”

Raynor raised his evebrows, and then furrowed them, trying to imagine Kerrigan mating with any of the Zerg strains.

Kerrigan laughed again. “If you’re wondering, none of the Zerg that you kill have penises. I have my fun with the cerebrates. They might not be able to physically touch me, but when they get into my head, they sure know how to hit the spot.”

Raynor wanted to throw up at that point. But he kept talking. The diversion was working.

Suddenly, he flung a small canister at Kerrigan. It landed at her feet, and before she could respond, it exploded. Her plates of Zerg armour cracked, leaving her exposed to the blast. The force of the blast smashed her frame upwards towards the roof of the command centre. She came crashing back to the ground, bloodied and injured.

Raynor took his chance. In half a moment, he had covered the distance between himself and Kerrigan. He pressed his rifle on her temples and smiled. “Its too bad I have to kill you. I loved you, I think I still do. But what has to be done will be done.” He was about to pull the trigger but she suddenly disappeared. Her cloaking was working again.

Raynor fired anyway, but only hit the floor. She had rolled out of the way.

“Dammit.” Raynor cursed. He retreated, and stood with his back facing the wall. His lights swung wildly from left to right, desperately trying to find Kerrigan. He would never succeed.

He suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his abdomen. He looked down and saw his blood flowing freely, coating the invisible blade that was now buried into this stomach. The blade pulled free, only to come again from the top, piercing his shoulder plate and digging into his flesh. It sheared muscle and bone and finally reached his lungs. Raynor knew then that he was finished.

“You have been watching too many movies, Raynor. You should have killed me when you had the chance. You love drama too much for your own good. I’m sure the pause would have made the memory of killing me so much cooler, but cool only applies in Hollywood love.”

Kerrigan came back into view. Her face was two feet away from his, and for the first time since she was taken by the Zerg, Raynor could look into her eyes. He thought he saw a tear forming, but then he saw her smile. The cynical sneer would be the last thing that he saw before her blades smashed past his helmet glass and stabbed him in the eye.